


2. A Sense of Foreboding

by orleans_vl



Series: Toute la Collection [2]
Category: Interview With the Vampire (1994), Vampire Chronicles - All Media Types, Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, bloodsharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3438119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orleans_vl/pseuds/orleans_vl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A very wounded Lestat appears at Armand's place in Paris, before Armand has decided what to do about the two vampires from the New World and their mysterious backstory. One thing is for sure, Armand would love to keep one of them for himself... at least for a little while. Lestat is unwilling to share.</p><p>In spite of this, there is an undercurrent of brotherhood between Lestat and Armand, and Armand does offer Lestat a <i>little</i> kindness.</p><p>Fic is 2/33, that are meant to be read in order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	2. A Sense of Foreboding

It was a stormy night. The wind howled around the high tower and rain pelted against the massive stone walls. From time to time, thunder roared in the air and lightning danced across the black cloud-covered sky. The thunderstorm was directly over Paris, forcing its inhabitants to look for shelter and pray for the end of the almighty din.

The weather didn't bother Armand, who spent the night in one of the rooms located on the lower floors of his tower. Sitting on his desk in front of the small fireplace and idly leafing through a heavy volume, he didn't really see the written words or the finely painted illustrations. He felt frustrated and didn't pay much attention to this book because he couldn't really concentrate. And before he started to re-read the sentences again he let it be.

Was it any wonder though that he couldn't focus?

Only a couple of nights ago, two young and inexperienced vampires had entered his territory, causing quite a stir in the world of the vampires. One of them was behaving more like a human than a night predator; the other was a bloodthirsty woman, trapped in the body of a child. No wonder that the vampire community in Paris was watching them closely with wary eyes.

How was he supposed to handle the situation? His fellow vampires didn't believe Louis and this vampire child and their story- or the lack of it- at all. Armand just hoped that he would be able to save these two should the others see them as a threat and decide to destroy them.

Louis: the dark-haired vampire had caught his attention from the first moment on. The barely hidden misery in the beautiful emerald eyes, the strange questions, the human morals and attitude, the searching for answers, his view of the world were captivating and refreshing for Armand.

 _I don't want to lose him, especially not to them._ And he realized as well that Louis could be the one vampire to teach him how to survive in this dark time and find a new reason to continue.

The storm became more violent and almost swallowed the barely audible whisper from just outside the window, but it caught his attention nonetheless. Frowning slightly, he turned his head and saw a figure sitting on the windowsill outside, in midst of the raging wind. The gusts played with the long dark cloak. Sudden lightning lit the night and he saw a tangle of wet golden locks and a very familiar face.

He sighed and shook his head. "Damn you, can't you use the door like everyone else?"

Swiftly Armand stood up and put the book into his armchair before he opened the window to let the other vampire inside. A gush of rain followed before Armand slammed the window shut again. The fire flickered and became still once the wind inside died down.

Armand wiped the raindrops from his eyes and ran his hands through his now damp hair, watching the new arrival slowly make his way towards the fire and rub his hands.

"Be grateful I let you live here, Armand," came the hissed reply, but Armand didn't care about that tone.

"I would have thought that you had enough of fire, Lestat." he said quietly and slowly approached the other vampire.

"Very true," came the mumbled reply, "but I love to torture myself. Don't you know that yet?" Lestat turned his head a bit and looked at Armand who clearly could see the disfigured skin and severe burns on the former smooth face in the firelight.

"You look terrible," he said.

"Well, thank you. I'm definitely not in my best form. Just look at these horrible clothes. I feel terrible too. Had no chance to feed properly on my way hither."

Sighing, Armand went to the small bed in the shadowed corner and grabbed the heavy blanket "Get out of your wet clothes. We'll dry them over the fire."

"And if I don't want to?"

"Do what you like. I don't care if you sit in these chilly clothes all night long. But please don't drip on the floor. It's been cleaned recently."

With an annoyed sound, Lestat raised shaking hands to undo the numerous buttons on his traveling cloak but failed. He sighed, frustrated, and wanted to tear them away but found his wrists caught in a gentle but irresistible grip.

"Allow me," Armand said with a calm voice, ignoring the sour expression, as he started to open the wet clothes. He helped Lestat to unclothe himself and froze for some seconds with shock when he encountered burnt flesh and more scars on shoulders and back. Schooling his features, he looked soberly at Lestat.

"Oh my, does it hurt much?" he asked, carefully touching the damaged skin of his shoulders, feeling Lestat flinch under the fleeting contact.

"Only when I'm laughing. Ouch, don't poke me there."

"Sorry, but really, you don't do anything by halves, do you? Care to give me some details about your 'suffering'?"

"Oh, I've been worse. You should have seen me a few nights ago. I was completely burnt black."

"I feel *so* sorry for you," Armand said, unable to keep the mocking out of his voice.

"Thank you," Lestat replied in the same manner, "your compassion is moving. You want details?Good. At first Claudia poisoned me with dead blood, then they wanted to put me to rest in this loathsome swamp, and then, last but not least, they tried to burn me alive. Three times in a row within a couple of nights!"

"They wanted to go about you the right way then. But hey, they really managed to hurt you, didn't they?" Armand mused with a smile.

"Pah, my pride is hurt that they managed to surprise me thusly, that's all."

"Ahh,” Armand leaned back and crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you didn't see that coming."

With a snort, Lestat wrapped the blanket around his body and sat into the armchair Armand had shoved in front of the fire.

"I didn't think she'd go so far. But you still don't know what's the worst thing."

"Then enlighten me, if you will."

"My house is a mess, my clothes are lost, my wonderful collection of trophies is gone and I’m sitting here talking to you."

"I can see how unsettling this has to be for you," Armand said with a sigh.

"You don't seem much surprised to see me here," Lestat remarked and enjoyed the warmth of the flames.

"I'm not," Armand agreed and picked the wet clothes off the floor to arrange them above the fire to dry. "I know you couldn't stay behind after all that happened. Not you."

"Wonderful, I make a complete fool of myself and the whole world knows it already," Lestat muttered and shivered.

"It's not the whole world," Armand said quietly. "Don't worry. It's only me so far. And if you don't give me any reasons to spread the word, I will keep it to myself."

"Very well, aren't you offering your blood to help me heal then?" Lestat said suddenly, a mocking smile on his split and dry lips.

Armand smiled back. "I'm not sure I want you so close to my throat. Who knows when or if you'll release me when you're done," Armand joked, but became serious once more. "But of course I will give you everything you need to recover. What a silly question."

Armand wanted to kneel down beside Lestat's leg and already reached up to remove his collar, but Lestat shook his head. "Very generous of you, I'm surprised. But not yet. I'm still able to hunt." Almost reluctantly: "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I knew you would come, but what are you going to do here, Lestat? Did you come for revenge?" Armand opened the drawer and fetched a brush, sat on the armrest and started to comb Lestat's long wet hair.

"I'm not sure," Lestat admitted and showed a rare sign of insecurity. He pulled the blanket closer, closed his eyes and enjoyed the ministrations. "I think, Claudia needs to be punished for what she did to me."

"You want to kill her, no?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" He sighed; a distressed sound. "She surely deserves it. And how she deserves it. Planning to kill me and dragging my poor Louis along. For that she deserves to suffer like I did."

"It was Louis who threw the lantern at you, *he* intended to burn you, now, didn't he?" Armand said, using his fingers to untangle an unruly strand. "I saw it in his mind when he tried to prevent my fellows invading his memories."

Anxiously Lestat straightened and opened his eyes. Armand lost hold of Lestat's hair when the other vampire moved his head. "Did they succeed? Did they see what he did to me?'

"No, calm down. They didn't," Armand assured him. "I shielded him from them before he revealed anything by accident."

He sighed deeply, "There's no need for them to find this out. If they ever do, they will kill him — and Claudia as well, of course."

Shuddering Lestat shook his head, "I don't think Louis really wanted to kill me. He hesitated, and I saw his eyes. They pleaded with me to go and leave Claudia alone. It was difficult not to indulge him."

Armand laughed softly, "I can imagine. When he looks at you with these big green eyes you'd do anything to please him, n'est- ce pas?"

"That's *my* Louis," Lestat started to sit up but hissed with pain. "Oh, _merde_."

"Don't move," Armand said, concern evident in his voice. "And don't be so stubborn. I know you're an excellent hunter and I know you're much stronger than I am. Take the blood I offer you to heal at least the most severe burns."

Chuckling despite the pain Lestat rubbed his scar-covered face, "If you insist. Who am I to deny you?"

Armand opened his collar, pushed his hair aside, leaned closer and rested his arms on Lestat's shoulders. He shuddered when Lestat nuzzled his neck and then bit into the vein without further hesitation.

Armand let out a small gasp when the sharp teeth broke through his skin; he felt his lifeblood leave his body. Lestat didn't take much blood though; after a few mouthfuls he retracted his fangs and gently licked the wounds until they closed.

The blood was already working its dark magic on Lestat's body and the scarred skin became smoother, but didn't heal completely yet. At least, the terrible remains of the burns vanished slowly.

But instead of sitting back, he rested his head on Armand's shoulder and put his arms around Armand's waist in a gesture of affection. Sighing deeply he murmured, "I could stay like this forever."

Armand chuckled and patted Lestat's hair, "You should be injured more often. You've mellowed."

Ignoring the glare he received he said, "Why don't you rest here for a while? It's still a few hours until dawn."

"I'm not staying here with you longer than necessary. I will have to hunt later. I need the strength of a goodkill."

"Will you look for them tonight?" Armand asked casually.

"No, I can't possibly face Louis or Claudia in this state. Impossible."

Armand untangled himself from the embrace, got up and moved towards the fire, checking the state of the clothes. "Tell me, Lestat. What are your plans?"

Lestat frowned and rubbed his face. Armand noticed then the fine, barely visible cuts on Lestat's hands.

"Claudia needs to be punished. It depends on her if she will die or not. I want Louis to come back with me. He needs to learn that he cannot simply run away like this. And I want his company, no matter how much he's whining."

"Understandable," Armand murmured, "I wished...." He stopped and Lestat shot him a glance.

"What? Tell me. I owe you for the blood you gave me. What do you wish for?"

"I need to come to terms with this new century and I believe Louis can help me," Armand admitted almost reluctantly. "Can't he stay here for a while and keep me company? I'm not speaking of forever, only a few years, perhaps. You stay as well, I hope."

"Louis is mine; what does he have to do with your coming to terms?" Lestat growled and clenched his fists, which caused a mild frown to appear on Armand's forehead.

"Oh really? He's yours? That's exactly the attitude that caused you all the trouble in the first place. He's no possession of yours."

"No? I made him a vampire, I can destroy him as well."

"Can you? Fine. Why don't you tell him? Oh, I forgot. You already did, didn't you? Now you're here, a

mere shadow of the vampire you used to be because of this attitude." He didn't receive an answer though.

"What of Claudia? Don't you want her back also? I believe after your standards she's also yours."

Lestat shrugged and grimaced when the barely healed skin throbbed painfully. "I don't really care. I made Claudia to keep Louis at my side and it worked- for a while."

"Of course, and how it worked. Until he decided to help her kill you."

Instead of an answer, Lestat stood up and stalked towards the fireplace to get his still-damp clothes. He pushed the blanket from his shoulders and started to clothe himself

"Already leaving?" Armand asked, amused. "You don't like to hear me saying the truth. Is it that?"

"No, I merely want to go. That's all — damn, couldn't you be more careful? I have burn marks in these trousers now."

"I'd like to have *your* problems, Lestat."

"Anyway, don't tell the others I'm here. Don't tell Louis and Claudia either. Try to get through Louis'

obstinacy if you must but don't forget to whom he belongs."

"As if I could ever forget it." Armand watched Lestat struggling to pull his cloak on. "Louis needs a reason to let Claudia go. He needs to be sure that someone's looking after her," he mused.

"And you know the perfect person, don't you." Lestat's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I think I do. Louis should turn her, then he'd realized that he's free."

"Free for you, huh?"

"But of course." Armand watched with a worried frown how the other vampire prepared himself, with almost clumsy movements, to go back outside.

"I will see you soon again, I think," Lestat said and walked towards the window. "A storm is coming up and it will be worse than this one raging outside," he murmured, opened the window and disappeared in the night.

"Yes, a storm is coming up. And I pray that we will survive it all," Armand murmured and closed the window before he turned to his armchair again.

Tomorrow, he was sure, Louis would seek him out for advice and Armand would be waiting for him with open arms.

 


End file.
